Chapter 940: I Don’t Like Her

“Celestial Master Ye?”

“Miss Ye, you know my sister?”

Everyone’s attention was on the ambiguous way Sister Hong had addressed her, and they waited for Ye Wenxin’s explanation.

“It’s like this,” Ye Wenxin said, “I have some ties to the One Short Sect and have learned a bit of Daoist arts there. A few days ago, I went out alone to have fun, and Sister Hong helped me a lot.”

She looked toward Sister Hong, worried the young woman might reveal Liuli’s existence. Although there wasn’t anything scandalous about Liuli, if her name suddenly came up, Ghost Mother would figure out that she had been giving the furballs gifts.

Lately, the furballs had been constantly bickering with Ghost Mother, and Ye Wenxin didn’t wish shura field to be part of her daily life.

Sister Hong had worked at the Treasure Pavilion for a long time. Hearing Ye Wenxin stress that she had gone alone made her wonder why Ye Wenxin wasn’t mentioning her younger sister. But since she needed Ye Wenxin’s help, she ultimately went along with the story and nodded.

“Yes, but it was actually Celestial Master Ye who helped me a lot. I came here today to thank her.” Sister Hong smiled, explaining to the others that Ye Wenxin could see spirits, careful not to go into too much detail.

She spoke cautiously, afraid that saying the wrong thing might upset Ye Wenxin.

Everyone’s doubts eased, and they now regarded Ye Wenxin with even higher respect. But her senior brother, the storyteller, was unaware of this part about her. The glint in his eyes made Ye Wenxin uneasy. Given his nosy and garrulous personality, she reckoned he’d bombard her with questions for a long time.

“Sister, Miss Ye—” Sister Hong smacked her brother upside the head, and he immediately corrected how he referred to Ye Wenxin. “Ugh, fine. Celestial Master Ye and her companions have been a big help today, so I want to treat them to dinner. Do you want to join us?”

“Dinner? Sounds great! But this meal’s on me. Let’s go to First Under Heaven.” Seizing this opportunity, Sister Hong decided to take everyone to someplace better.

Everyone looked pleased at the prospect of eating at such a renowned restaurant.

This restaurant was right in the heart of the city’s busiest marketplace. Their delicacies were made from rare spirit ingredients, which money alone couldn’t buy. Its demonic beast meat dishes were top-tier in flavor.

Highly nourishing, they could extend the lifespan of regular folks while boosting cultivators’ cultivation. Naturally, the price was sky-high, beyond what ordinary people could afford.

“Sister, isn’t this too costly even for the Treasure Pavilion’s manager?” Young Master Lü considered how much this meal would cost and worried about his sister’s coin purse.

Sister Hong raised an eyebrow in annoyance. She smacked his back and said, “Your big sister can pay for one decent meal. If you really want to save me money, stop bringing home useless junk. Why don’t you learn from Xiao Lan for once?”

“Xiao Lan’s a girl! She doesn’t need any of that stuff!” Young Master Lü grumbled, but a harsh glare from Sister Hong had him swallowing the rest of his complaints.

Ye Wenxin finally learned how many siblings Young Master Lü had.

The eldest, Fang Hong—age thirty—was a manager at the Treasure Pavilion.

The second, Fang Cheng, was a concubine to the Golden Age Dynasty’s emperor. (TL: Their first names are all colors. Lü – Green, Hong – Red, Lan – Blue, Cheng – Orange.)

And the rest were all rather obscure. Young Master Lü was the most unpromising of the bunch, making Sister Hong bitterly disappointed in him.

“Sister, cut it out! This is so embarrassing!” he protested, self-conscious in the presence of the ice-cold beauty Han Shanxue and the girl-next-door Ghost Mother. Ye Wenxin, however, he regarded as one of the guys.

Ye Wenxin was long used to having zero influence over the opposite sex. On top of that, she was often in the company of outstanding women who drew attention away from her.

Meanwhile, the storyteller had an uncle’s charm, young Fei Chai fit the taste of eccentric aunties, and Sister Hong was a well-known figure in the Golden Age Dynasty. In the lively marketplace, their group stood out even more.

People whispered among themselves, wondering who Sister Hong was personally escorting.

“Could it be a hidden expert? The Treasure Pavilion didn’t even go this far for the Azure Wings Sect elder who visited last time.”

“Maybe it’s a big client? I mean, their cultivation doesn’t look like much, but those girls are quite beautiful.”

The crowd let their imaginations run wild. Meanwhile, Sister Hong walked beside Ye Wenxin, enthusiastically introducing everything around them.

Ye Wenxin briefly wondered if her cheat had gotten lonely being with the peach blossom demon and returned to her. But seeing the genuine warmth in Sister Hong’s eyes, she realized it was her talent that had won Sister Hong over.

She found no ghostly energy on Sister Hong, but each of the four guards behind her had a resentful spirit clinging to them. If these rogue cultivators didn’t have high cultivation, they’d have been too bogged down to walk. They looked helpless, but since Sister Hong hadn’t said anything, they didn’t dare ask Ye Wenxin for help.

The trained bodyguards, an elder who seemed like a eunuch, and Sister Hong’s second sister being the emperor’s concubine all pointed to the Treasure Pavilion being wholly on the emperor’s side.

And then, Long Qingyue suddenly drew in Young Master Lü.

After weighing everything, Ye Wenxin concluded that a massive conspiracy was at play. Long Qingyue wasn’t approaching her. It was she who had unknowingly stepped into the script Long Qingyue prepared.

Ye Wenxin gave a wry smile. Her luck had taken a downturn this time. However, everything had already happened, so she didn’t think more about this mess.

“Celestial Master Ye, please order first,” said Sister Hong.

Even though Ye Wenxin technically had the lowest seniority among them, she was given the place of honor. Sister Hong sat beside her, smiling warmly. Young Master Lü had never seen his sister act so enthusiastic toward someone outside of work. He looked at Ye Wenxin with awe.

Ye Wenxin couldn’t bear to look at those sparkling eyes. She averted her gaze and saw Ghost Mother.

Ghost Mother seemed displeased at how close Ye Wenxin was to another woman. Noticing she was finally looking at her, Ghost Mother spoke telepathically.

Ghost Mother: I don’t like her.

Ye Wenxin: Uh-huh.

Ghost Mother: Keep your distance from her.

Ye Wenxin: Aren’t we far enough apart?

Ye Wenxin was puzzled. She could tell Ghost Mother was probably jealous, but the heavens knew she’d kept a respectable distance from Sister Hong. There wasn’t even any physical contact.

Ghost Mother: Then stop talking to her.

Ye Wenxin: ……

Instead of responding to Ghost Mother’s unreasonable demands, Ye Wenxin pretended to admire the moon outside the window.